Review: Seize the Night (2015)

Written and directed by Emma Dark, Seize the Night is a short indie film that stars Dark as Eva, an outcast vampire assassin. Full of characters and action, it’s something that will leave you impressed with what an indie film can be if one takes the time to get things right. At the end of its 13 minute run-time, it gives enough to want more, despite some flaws.

The film starts with Eva, who is being hunted by her coven after she escapes their clutches from their research facility. She then learns of a plot to unleash a deadly virus on the world and is tasked with finding the antidote to the virus. Things go awry and fights commence against both vampires and werewolves, all in well choreographed scenes.

What succeeds in this movie is both the visual style and great action sequences. It’s all done in an almost black and white tone, giving it a noir style that looks great. For a small budget picture, the fight scenes are surprisingly well done. It’s all helped by exceptional costumes and make up effects, and feels right out and on par with the high budget Underworld movies. It’s really cool to see this kind of work put into an indie movie, as the passion really shows.

Where the movie falls short is in the flat acting. With the exception of a few characters, most of them come off as a little cheesy. It’s a slightly jarring when you have these great visuals and action, only to be treated to wooden performances after. The ending is also very abrupt, concluding just as something major is going to happen. It feels very out of place, as if they were forced to stop between a scene that never got filmed.

Despite some glaring issues with the film, it does have a lot of potential. It was overly ambitious in what it could do with just 13 minutes, but the ending leaves you with a hunger for a another dive into this world. You want to know what made the catalyst of virus, why her coven wants her back, and so much more. With the success this film has gotten, hopefully Emma Dark one day gets that second chance to correct the missteps and mistakes she made in this one, as there is more she could delve into with Seize the Night as a feature film.